Experience Really Matters - But Now You're Fighting AI Hacks

Lessons From Lightning-Fast AI-Based Attacks and How Cyber Defenders Should Respond , Brandy Harris • December 10, 2025

When Anthropic disclosed a cyberespionage campaign conducted largely through an artificial intelligence system, it provided a detailed view of how offensive operations can unfold when an autonomous tool performs most of the technical work.

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The Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, intrusion still needed human direction, but the operational tasks were executed by an AI system that performed reconnaissance, generated exploits, escalated privileges and moved laterally through the network. These actions were not some theoretical attack chain that could happen in the future. They were documented in an active investigation and supported by forensic evidence.

The significance of the incident is not that AI will replace human expertise. It's that AI can restructure the pace and character of an intrusion in a way ...